Fred slung his too-heavy bag off his shoulders, dropping into the rolling chair behind his uncle\u2019s cherry stained desk. When his mom told him his uncle needed him to help out for a few hours a night leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day, he\u2019d imagined something more glorious than answering the phones. At the very least, he imagined a task that would let him work on his assignments that were piling up by the day.<\/p>\n
Still, as long as his uncle was willing to slip him a crisp Benjamin at the end of each night, he supposed it was worth giving up his free time. His elbow smacked painfully onto the desk when the phone shrieked to life. He pressed the down arrow on the volume even as he picked up the phone. Now that he was here, there was no need to have the volume up loudly enough to be heard through the clattering din of the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for calling Rizzolini\u2019s, this is Federico. How may I assist you?\u201d His ear still smarted from the twisting his uncle gave it the first time he was caught answering the phone as Fred. Such an American name would never convince customers they were an authentic Italian restaurant. He was to go by the name his father put on his birth certificate\u2014or else.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to place a reservation for Saturday night,\u201d the man on the other end of the line snapped out, disregarding any polite formalities.<\/p>\n
Fred clicked through the online planner, looking for Saturday night\u2019s openings. \u201cThis Saturday?\u201d He asked. Not waiting for a response, he added. \u201cI\u2019m afraid we\u2019re already booked full that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, booked full?\u201d The man demanded. \u201cI told you I want to make a reservation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cValentine\u2019s Day is one of our busiest nights, sir. To ensure a place, you would need to have made your reservation weeks ago. If you would like, I can put you on our waiting list for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNext year?\u201d Fred could practically hear the spittle flying from his mouth. \u201cI need a reservation for this year!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen might I suggest you try another restaurant?\u201d Fred tried to sound sympathetic. The line went dead.<\/p>\n
He pulled out his English textbook, beginning to read through his latest assignment, Shakespeare\u2019s sonnets. He had a report due first thing Monday morning on the sappy poems. He wondered how many of his classmates would be using the poems to try and impress their girlfriends this weekend. That was if any of them bothered to do the reading before Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Just as he flipped to the correct page, the phone rang again. \u201cThank you for calling\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to place a reservation for Valentine\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, we\u2019re full up,\u201d Fred said, staring down at the first of the assigned sonnets.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you have to understand,\u201d the man insisted, \u201cmy girlfriend particularly wants to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen maybe you should have made reservations sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have, but she only just agreed to go out with me. I can\u2019t mess it up already.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDude, if she is going to break up with you because you didn\u2019t make plans for Valentine\u2019s Day before you were actually dating, then that chick is probably crazy and you\u2019d be doing yourself a favor to have her dump you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are so desperate, I can add you to the waiting list, but there are about twenty people ahead of you, so you probably aren\u2019t going to get a table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a godsend,\u201d the man said. \u201cTable for two, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fred resisted the urge to roll his eyes and say something sarcastic. \u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie Frothingham.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright Charlie, if we have a table come available, we\u2019ll give you a call back at this number\u2014is that cool?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, thank you, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo problem.\u201d He hung up the phone. Without so much as writing the name or number down, he returned to his textbook. Like he told the guy, he would be better off without a crazy girl in his life. Besides, it isn\u2019t as if anyone was going to cancel their plans. If they did some walk in would get their spot, not any of the imaginary people on the waiting list.<\/p>\n
He made it through a whole sonnet before the phone rang again. \u201cThank you for calling Rizzolini\u2019s, this is Federico. How may I be of service?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s a bit last minute, but\u2026 do you have any openings on Valentine\u2019s Day?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid not,\u201d Fred said. \u201cWe filled up weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDrat. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try. Do you have any suggestions on where I might be able to make reservations so late in the game?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you wanting to stay with Italian food or are you good with other options?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPreferably Italian, but at this point I\u2019m desperate and will take anything I can get.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s that new place off the highway,\u201d Fred said, \u201cyou might try them. Otherwise if you want Italian, you\u2019ll have to leave town. There are a few steak and seafood places you might try as well. Best of luck. Hope you find something. If we have any cancellations, I\u2019ll give you a call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you so much for all your help.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man hung up and Fred went back to his studying. Every few minutes he would get a new phone call. If they were polite to him, he would generally try and let them down nicely. If they weren\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cValentine\u2019s Day? All full.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you just cancel somebody\u2019s reservation and put me in their spot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, yes. I could,\u201d Fred said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really, I kind of stopped paying attention after you mentioned you wanted to make reservations on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, listen here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListening won\u2019t make me suddenly have an opening. Wait\u2014\u201d he trailed off as if suddenly noticing something. \u201cNope. Still no space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI plan to propose to my girlfriend on Saturday and I want the night to be perfect for her. Which means, you will make space for me to have dinner with my girlfriend at this restaurant on Valentine\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really don\u2019t want me to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I will make a point to go out there and tell your girlfriend that you are an egotistical dickheaded bully. So I really think you want to rethink where you have dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to speak to the manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, give me one moment.\u201d He placed his palm over the receiver. \u201cUncle!\u201d<\/p>\n
A balding man with salt-and-pepper hair and a heavyset belly shoved his head into the doorway. \u201cWhat is it, Federico my boy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a dickhead on the phone who wants me to cancel somebody\u2019s reservation on Saturday so that we can fit him in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell him that only an idiot waits until two days before Valentine\u2019s Day to make a reservation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI went with something a bit less nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my lad. You tell him Rizzolini\u2019s has no room and to stop wasting your time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes uncle.\u201d He moved his hand off the receiver. \u201cI spoke with our manager and he would like me to tell you that you are an idiot. Have a great day.\u201d He hung up.<\/p>\n
As he was packing away his books, the phone rang, loud and jarring now that he was preparing to leave for the night. \u201cThank you for calling Rizzolini\u2019s, this is Federico. If you are calling to make reservations for Valentine\u2019s Day, please hang up now.\u201d The line went dead. Maybe he should have been answering the phone like that all night. He probably would have gotten in more studying that way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fred slung his too-heavy bag off his shoulders, dropping into the rolling chair behind his uncle\u2019s cherry stained desk. When his mom told him his uncle needed him to help out for a few hours a night leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day, he\u2019d imagined something more glorious than answering the phones. At the very least, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1212],"class_list":["post-9015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-valentines-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9015\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}